truck:

• 1996 f150, 4x4, 5.0L, automatic, 125k miles, timing bump
• msd blaster coil, plugs, taylor wires all 6 months old
• previously set at 15 BTDC before issues and ran great

Problem:

• truck was running good and normal, one day started truck and it started funny, put in drive and made it 10 ft then stopped at edge of road and died, restarted it and went home, have been having problem ever since

• Hard starting (Starts after trying anywhere from 3-6 times when engine is cold starts fine when warm)
• loss of power
• missing
• when engine is cold the truck will buck or hiccup around the 40-50 mph range (missing?)

Observations:

• when trying to start, fumes come out of air box, fuel vapors, can smell gas
• Pulled all the plugs and they all averaged .050" gap, they should have been .062" like they were originally set 6 months ago
• only way to get the truck to start is when the timing is set at 25 degree BTDC
• the truck will turn over fine when trying to start with no sign of firing but will fire and chug and try to start as soon as key is let off of and sometimes chugs for 5-8 seconds
• the truck has so much more power when set at 25-27 degrees BTDC
• I am hearing a new noise, possibly pinging, can someone describe a pinging sound, happens during harder acceleration and up hill mostly, pretty sure its a ping
• even 20 degrees BTDC the truck starts hard and not much power
• the truck dies most of the time when you start it and put it in gear, the rpms go way down and then it dies, has died up to 5 times trying to get it in gear
• idles just fine
• starts from stopped position and idle fine usually, sometimes misses once
• Idles pretty good when set at 15 BTDC and SPOUT plug is disconnected, when connected it runs rough and wont start

things ive done:

• pulled all plugs, reset gaps
• played with the timing a million times
• checked fuel pressure
• checked icm
• cleaned iac
• I have fuel, i have spark, i think they are just not meeting at the right time

Did my timing chain slip? its been two months of messing with this.....

 

Finally my check engine light came on today. In the past two months it has come on twice counting today but the first time it went off before i could read the code. This is a OBD II and the code today was #635 OEM number to cross is P1359

Definition
Spark output circuit condition

explanation
detected no SPOUT signal from distributor

probable cause
SPOUT connector missing (It's still in there)
open circuit condition, how do i test this?
Ignition control module fault (tested it 5 times about a month ago)

The engine light went away about 30 mins after checking codes


Any ideas/advice?

 

Check the wires up to the SPOUT for cracks, hard kinks or breaks in the wire

 

Could be the PIP.

 

Ive looked up the PIP before but didnt completely understand its function. could you help explain? and is it hard to get to in the distributor? i remember hearing they are a pain in some years or something like that. some are internal and some external?

 

One tooth for each cylinder so the computer can see the cylinders, pretty much. I tried to change one, broke the distributor gear so I just buy the whole distributor.

 

Check valve timing, if it jumped, correcting distributor timing won't help.

 

is there any easy way to check the valve timing other than pulling the timing chain cover?